As electric vehicles become more common, more and more locations will build charging points for these vehicles. There are two typical ways to fully recharge an electric vehicle: wired charging, which involves connecting a charging cable to the vehicle; and wireless induction charging, which involves positioning the vehicle over or in proximity to an inductive charging mat, whereby the mat wirelessly charges the vehicle battery.
In the wired version of charging, an information connection is commonly provided as part of the connection cable. This facilitates information exchange between the vehicle and the charging point, allowing for charging to be configuration, measurement, monitoring, and payment.
In the wireless version of vehicle charging, a driver typically precisely positions the vehicle above a charging mat. Once in place with proper alignment, the vehicle begins charging. Since there is no wired connection in this model, a system is needed to facilitate information exchange between the charging point and the vehicle. One solution to this problem includes the use of a wireless access point provided in conjunction with the charging mat. Once the vehicle connects to the proper wireless access point, the vehicle and charging point can exchange information and the charging point can begin charging the vehicle.
Unfortunately, wireless access points are incredibly common in the modern world. So, at any given time, a vehicle approaching a charging point may have a variety of access points from which to choose. These can include charging points other than that which a driver desires to use, as well as any other wireless access points broadcasting accessibility in an area. If a vehicle connects to the wrong or undesirable access point, the driver may not know that the vehicle is incompatible with the desired charging mat, or there may simply be a long delay until the appropriate connection is established. In other examples, people with malicious intent could even provide open networks that appear to be wireless charging point networks, to which a vehicle may connect only to have the vehicle computing system improperly accessed via the connection.